Well, yes, that's strange, indeed. But not normal, anyway. I'm gonna ask Beatlesfannext if there's any problem with emails orders. I'm sure this problem will be solved within a short delay. So, thank you very much for having informed me about what happened to your order, Bobber.

In the meantime, in order you would get the book as soon as possible, please send me a private message with your whereabouts, and I'll send you a copy as a priority package in Holland with a personal dedication.

Thanks, Bobber. Don't worry, now you have all your life to read (an re-read) the book. The only problem was to get it! lol.

As far as the Höfner violin bass is concerned, it is quite possible (although we cannot be sure at 100%) that Paul was influenced or got the idea from the Jets, as bass player Colin Crawley (alias Melander) bought this instrument for himself as early as the end of 1960 or early 1961.

Anyway, I would like to be sure, and this is one of the few questions I hope I'll be able to ask Paul the next time I have the opportunity to talk with him (5 minutes would be great!...) in Paris.

One thing is certain, though: The very rare photograph shown on page 41 of the book and which was taken in a bar in Lurup (near Hamburg) around end 1960/early 1961 undoubtedly proves that Melander was one of the very first British musicians to use this type of instrument in Hamburg.

I think Paul tells the story that he saw the Hofner in a shop somewhere in Hamburg and was struck by its shape. But he could have seen Colin with it and thought that he needed a bass like that for himself. Funny that it's Tony Sheridan with the bass pictured. I will continue reading and rereading, thanks. lol

Since a few days ago, we are having at this thread a very fruitful discussion about the Framus 'Wander' guitar which was supposed to belong to Paul's father at the early days. Maybe he could offer some light about it, as evidence seems to confirm that the guitar could be purchased after the Zenith...

I think Paul tells the story that he saw the Hofner in a shop somewhere in Hamburg and was struck by its shape. But he could have seen Colin with it and thought that he needed a bass like that for himself. Funny that it's Tony Sheridan with the bass pictured. I will continue reading and rereading, thanks. lol

Well yes, Bobber, you're absolutely right. Besides, I think Paul tells this story in the Anthology video set. He said he was struck by the Höfner symmetrical shape, especially because as a left-handed musician he could easily play it upside down. So the historical truth is probably a mixture of all these different elements, although we will probably never know in details how it exactly happened. This is why I always preferred not to put forward any theory I wasn't sure of, you know.

And as I also gave to you my compliments for your new book privately, I would like to do it here as well, as it's one of the best books I have read about The Beatles (=and you can trust I have read a lot of them...), very good documented, very good researched and very good done. Undoubtedly a 'must-have' for all The Beatles community...

And as I also gave to you my compliments for your new book privately, I would like to do it here as well, as it's one of the best books I have read about The Beatles (=and you can trust I have read a lot of them...), very good documented, very good researched and very good done. Undoubtedly a 'must-have' for all The Beatles community...

Best regards from Spain!!

Xosé

Thank you so much Xosé! It's always a nice reward for an author to see that readers could appreciate a work which took sometimes years to write...

By the way, I would like to take this opportunity to answer to a question which is often asked to me: Why the book is so expensive (in particular in USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, etc.)?

Member Zipp gave the answer himself on another Beatles forum, and instead of writing something different, I prefer to take up his own paragraph as it is written in perfect English :

"You may feel it's expensive but there are a couple of reasons that haven't been mentioned.

First the book is published in France so it has to be shipped abroad to wherever you are. For Brits this means it's a bit more expensive than 25 euros and for Americans it's quite a lot more. Not much anyone can do about that unless you know someone going to France in the near future who could pick it up for you.

Also at the moment the dollar is fairly weak compared to the euro but that doesn't look like changing anytime soon either.

You must also keep in mind that the book is over 400 pages long and the sacking of Pete Best is only one of the shorter chapters. The main stuff discussed is the Polydor Sessions with Tony Sheridan and the Star Club recordings.

I think someone has already said that it's a reference book of sorts which is true. I haven't read the Star Club chapter yet for example because you have to be in a fairly concentrated frame of mind! But the book is still readable, you just have to take it bit by bit."

Moreover, I don't know if you've seen it, but the book The Beatles Fact and Fiction 1960-1962 (still in its french form) was reviewed by Dutch magazine Beatles Unlimited in 2005, and it gives you an idea of the contents of the book:

We actually waited with the review of this book, while it's written in the French language only! As the author is a long time member of the magazine I suggested him to find a publisher that can release this brilliant book in the English language. Now this has finally happened it will be published soon. The book is as detailed as you can get, it's the best result about this particular subject . For Americans the story usually begins on 7 February 1964. Anytime when I'm talking about the Hamburg period with an American, their lack of knowledge about the band's pre-64 story surprises me! You probably all are familiar with Gottfridsson's fine book about the subject, published a few years back. This was the first professional attempt to solve some of the Beatles' secrets. He frequently is quoted inside this book, just as our own series published in Beatles Unlimited about the Hamburg '62 tapes. To enable you to find and compare information focussed to the 1960-1962 period of the group, this book has one of the biggest indexes and appendixes ever published. It absolutely is vital to find your way in this matter. Even for the die-hard fans the given information is overwhelming and is at the same time the ultimate proof that you've obtained a very special book! The only comment I have is that the contents is sometimes difficult to grasp due to the overwhelming number of facts! The author does not pretend that he is telling the truth. He simply gathered together all found information and sources! (Very wise!) It is up to you to make this conclusion. His close contact with Tony Sheridan and people familiar with the subject, surfaced lots of facts that were not known or not common to beatlefans. If you combine all those details, you will be close to the truth of a story that has so many versions! It was a privilege for me to review this superb book, as even I found an answer to questions I had in mind for so many years. Well done mon ami!

Well, in a way, that's not surprising, Bobber: Doug Sulpy (from The 910 Newsletter) only received his review copy yesterday! (although I sent a first one in October – well, that's also my fault, as it was his old address!). Doug told me the book will be reviewed in the next 910 issue, though.

Moreover, it seems that the copy which was also sent to Pete Nash in October (at Record Collector's address) never reached him too, which is rather strange (!). All of this shows that the main international magazines will do a review of the book within the first months of 2010.

Still a great read, tho I sometimes have problems with the big amount of footnotes. I feel they sometimes could have been fit into the story itself, but that's just me.

Well Bobber, I agree that the system of footnotes may appear sometimes a bit heavy, but that's the only way of working efficiently, you know. The constant question which comes to the mind of the author is: does this passage or extract disrupt the underlying theme of the text? The text must stay as "lighter" and intelligible as possible. Sometimes I had hesitations (especially for interviews), and this is the reason why many of them were eventually rejected in footnotes, still in order not to break the subject continuity. But it is possible that some short precisions (one or two lines only) could have been kept in the main text after all... Well, you know, it is mainly a matter of choice from the author and it is a rather subjective decision.

...Well Bobber, I agree that the system of footnotes may appear sometimes a bit heavy, but that's the only way of working efficiently, you know. The constant question which comes to the mind of the author is: does this passage or extract disrupt the underlying theme of the text? The text must stay as "lighter" and intelligible as possible. Sometimes I had hesitations (especially for interviews), and this is the reason why many of them were eventually rejected in footnotes, still in order not to break the subject continuity. But it is possible that some short precisions (one or two lines only) could have been kept in the main text after all... Well, you know, it is mainly a matter of choice from the author and it is a rather subjective decision...

I agree with Eric here. In my musicological research (=I'm not talking now about Beatles research) I also have sometimes to decide if something should be in the main text or as a footnote. Usually, the decision comes from a questiuon like "...Would this paragraph break the subject continuity?? Should I place it in the main text or as a footnote??...". There is always a bit of subjectivity at these kind of decisions. We should remember that there are as many histories as historians writting them (=even on the same subject...)

BTW: regarding Los Españoles, I found that they made their 1st recording under Bert Kämpfert at Musikhalle (Kleiner Saal) in Hamburg 1959, April the 5th., being Mono number 46315 and Stereo 237 515. But I couldn't never get copies of the relevant sources from Polydor archives (=Aufnahmeprotokoll, Überspielungs-Meldung, etc.)